Prisoner hit with cue for ‘no reason’
A PRISONER attacked a fellow inmate with a cue during a game of pool in an unprovoked attack which split his head open.
Paul Roscoe, 36, was a serving prisoner at HMP Cardiff when he carried out the assault on Lloyd Jones on September 10, 2017.
The attack left Mr Jones with a 2.5cm cut to his head which required staples.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday heard the incident took place at about 2.50pm on F wing while prisoners were spending time out of their cells
Describing the incident, prosecutor Nuhu Gobir said: “The defendant was playing a game of pool and the victim was hanging around the pool table whilst waiting for his turn.
“[Mr Jones] was talking to another prisoner at his cell door and he then turned around with his back facing the wall. He had his head down and was looking at the floor.
“Out of the blue the defendant, who had just taken his shot at the table, grabbed the pool cue and struck the victim to his head.”
In a statement to the court Mr Jones said he heard a “thudding” noise and a “horrendous bang” before feeling pain to the front of his head. The blow caused Mr Jones’ head to “immediately split open” and there was blood running down his face.
The court was also shown footage of the assault taken from prison cameras.
When asked by the prisoner governor why he had carried out the assault, the defendant replied: “I don’t know why I did it. It just happened. There’s no explanation or reason why I did it.
“I took a shot on the table and the next thing I know I hit him on the head with a pool cue.”
Roscoe later pleaded unlawful wounding.
Mr Jones was taken to the medical wing before being taken to the University Hospital of Wales.
In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Mr Jones said he had guilty to suffered from “severe” headaches, flashbacks and nightmares about the assault.
He added: “I don’t understand why he did what he did and assault me. I did not know him and I have never spoken to him before.
“This was a completely unprovoked attack which I could not see coming and I could not defend myself.”
In mitigation Roscoe’s barrister Marian Lewis said at the time of the assault her client had suffered a deterioration in his mental health.
She said: “Otherwise there is no explanation for this unprovoked and unpremeditated single blow.”
Sentencing, the Recorder of Cardiff Judge Eleri Rees told Roscoe she would not be sending him to prison.
She added: “You have a long criminal record and you do have convictions in the past for violence but they don’t dominate your record.”
Roscoe, of Heol Johnson, Talbot Green, was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 12 months and was ordered to carry out 25 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.